Lady Cobras clip Bears in tight win at home in non-league action

After dropping a nail-biter on the road against Horton last Friday, the Jackson Heights girls basketball team flipped the script when it returned home to face St. Marys in a non-league contest on Monday night.

While the teams were neck-and-neck the whole way, the Cobras even trailed in the fourth quarter, JH coach Dan Shupe noted his team did the simple things necessary to gut out a 42-40 win over the Bears.

“It comes down to executing things, not turning the ball over at key points and we were able to do that fairly well and gave us a chance to win. This time we ended up pulling it off,” Shupe said.

A match-up advantage also helped the team execute, as Hannah Williams bounced back from a tough outing against Horton to pitch in eight points in the winning effort.

The Chargers had some height inside to help negate Williams, but that wasn’t the case with St. Marys on Monday.

“They had a quicker team, but smaller, so we tried to take charge in the interior and they did a pretty good job of it,” Shupe said.

Katelin Strube only had five points, but Shupe noted she continues to dominate the boards as she is averaging almost 16 rebounds in the last three games. Becca Gibson led the Cobras with 12 points in the game.

Early on, the teams battled back and forth and went into halftime tied, 21-21. St. Marys came out and took a slight lead into the fourth quarter and even led by five in the final period, but Shupe noted guards Alexis Rieschick and Marley Wareham hit some key threes and the Cobras stayed mentally strong to complete the comeback effort.

“When we finally got over the hump, we never relinquished the lead, which was big,” Shupe said. “We’ve done that against teams throughout the season where we’ve had a chance, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. Well, we got over the hump and were able to sustain it. That’s a big step forward for this group.”

 Jackson Heights’ unselfish nature showed in the end, as the guards continued to work the ball inside and play smart, while the posts converted for the Cobras to help the team squeak out a two-point win.

Considering how evenly balanced most of the Northeast Kansas League is (and has proven to be through the first half of the season), Shupe said getting a win like Monday’s could be crucial for his team moving forward.

“When you come in and play several tight games up to this point and you’re always on the other side of it, you’re kind of not sure if you can do it. I think it’s going to help us down the stretch when we come into more close games,” Shupe said. “It was big to get some confidence back, to finish out a game that was, again, very evenly matched, and get a win. That’s hopefully a huge confidence boost heading into that HIT, which is definitely going to be a tough tournament for us.”

That tough “HIT,” Hiawatha Invitational tournament, is next on the schedule for Jackson Heights (4-5). Tournament pairings have not been announced yet, but competition will start next week in Hiawatha. Check future editions of The Holton Recorder for more information.

Jan. 18, 2016

Varsity

StM.:  12-9-13-6—40

JH:  11-10-11-10—42

Individual statistics:

JH:  Gibson 5 (1) 1-3 12, H. Williams 4 0-0 8, Rieschick 2 (1) 0-2 5, Abel 2 (1) 0-1 5, Strube 2 1-2 5, Cattrell 1 2-4 4, Wareham 1 (1) 0-4 3. Totals- 17 (4) 4-16 42.

StM.:  Hurla 4 3-3 11, Layton 4 0-0 8, Harrison 3 (1) 0-0 7, Stewart 3 0-0 6, Moylan 2 0-0 4, Flanagan 2 0-0 4. Totals- 18 (1) 3-3 40.

JV

St. Marys 44, Jackson Heights 32

C-Team

St. Marys 40, Jackson Heights 25